‘Avengers: Endgame’ Directors Believe The Era Of The Two-Hour Movie Is No More

Joe and Anthony Russo believe its too difficult to work within the two-hour time frame these days.

Joe and Anthony Russo believe its too difficult to work within the two-hour time frame these days.

The two-hour movie is dead, or at least near extinction if the Russo brothers have anything to say about it. The directing duo of Avengers: Infinity War has strong feelings about movie lengths these days, believing the age-old adage “less is more” is nonsense.

According to CinemaBlend, the Russos have said the cut for Endgame is currently sitting at three hours. That number will likely be trimmed down, as three-hour movies are basically unheard of these days. If a film were to hit a three-hour mark, it would definitely lie somewhere in the Marvel Universe, because, well, Marvel.

Joe believes the issue with movies these days is the lack of surprise and that younger generations have become experts at figuring out how a movie will end within the first five minutes. This has made their directing style more complex and has compelled them to make movies where nothing is ever certain.

“The two-hour film has had a great run over 100 years. But it’s become very difficult to work in. I’m not sure that the generation that’s coming up will see the two-hour film as the dominant form of storytelling.”

This belief isn’t shocking coming from the Russo brothers, who routinely have movies over the two-hour mark. With Endgame currently sitting at three hours, Infinity War at two hours and 40 minutes, Captain America: Civil War at two hours and 28 minutes, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier at two hours and 16 minutes, it’s no surprise they think the era is dead.

The Russo brothers have become experts at directing and storytelling, with some of the most successful MCU movies under their belt. Avengers: Endgame will be no exception, no matter what minute-mark it ultimately ends up at.

But it’s not just the Russos who have adopted the longer-length movie trend. James Wan’s upcoming Aquaman has a runtime of two hours and 23 minutes. That comes as no surprise for the DC film since its predecessors, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was just over three hours long; Wonder Woman ran for a solid two hours and 29 minutes; and Justice League was right at two hours.

Comic book movies aren’t the only films which have enough content to hit over two hours these days. The past five Star Wars films have all gone well past two hours, and fans shouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon. Of course, it’s easier for an action movie to run for longer, with horror and scary movies normally landing around an hour and 30 minutes.

To see just how long Avengers: Endgame ends up being, catch the film when it hits theaters on April 26, 2019.